To Behold Nature
by Alpine-Dragon-Queen
Summary: After being told that she should stop spending so much time with technology and is given a gift that let's her breathe underwater. Coco, along with Pura, go on a small quest away from home to try and find nature's true beauty.
1. Chapter 1: A Cross Dimentional Thank You

A/N: Ok, first things. I am very sorry that I have not been updating my ofther stories. This has been because my computer bit the dust, so I'm working on this one I made last night for anybody that wants to rewrite the next chapter for every other story I have on this site. Wish me luck and I'm sorry about the delay.

To Behold Nature

Chapter 1: A Cross Dimentional Thank You.

A warm mid-day breeze calmly drifted across the lazy surface of N. Sanity island. The quiet atmosphere of the tangled jungle lay undisturbed, save for two voices.

"Crash!"

Coco, a young anthropoid bandicoot could be heard yelling at her older brother. Who had spilled wampa juice, from the fruit he was eating, onto the keyboard of her precious pink laptop.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to eat over me while I'm on my computer!" She demanded as she gently yet quickly began to wipe the sticky purple juice from the laptop's silver keys. Her brother just scratched the back of his head and tried to avoid eye contact with the younger bandicoot. Who only let out an angry "huff!" as she closed her laptop and slowly climb to her feet. Coco was about o say something to him when all of a sudden Aku-Aku appeared before them.

"Children, please come home at once. There are some people I would like you to meet waiting for you there." He told them with a joyous look on his face. Both bandicoots sigh, though one was in anger and the other in relief.

The tiny group had been walking for less than ten minutes when their small, lop-sided home came in to view. Aku-Aku quickly floated over towards the odd round door that guarded the entrance to the house.

"Hurry, children. We must not keep out guests waiting, that would be rude." The guiding spirit urged them and they quickly picked up the pace. Upon entering the house, they walked quickly down the front hallway towards to main room. Coco and Crash gasped at the two figures they saw, who were playing with Pura, Polar and T-Trip, Crash's baby T-Rex that followed him home from their time warp adventure.

"About time you two get home." A massive bandicoot said to them as mock scolding as he looked at the guess.

"Well, sorry, Crunch. Crash and I had a little fruit fiasco by the beach…." Coco retorted as she held up some of her hair to show him that it was purple with wampa juice. Aku-Aku shook his head.

"Children, this is no time to bicker. Now please come forward."

The three bandicoot children apologized and walked into the room.

"Oh, Aku. You back?"

Coco heard a male voice with a slight accent come from the shorter of the two guests, who the young bandicoot was quite freaked out about since he lacked limbs and his body parts seemed to just hover near each other.

"Correct, and I have brought them back with me."

"Wonderful! Shall we begin then?"

Coco heard the words come forth in a sweet and gentle voice, said by the taller of the two. Coco and her older brothers sat on the floor in front of their guests and Aku-Aku floated over to introduce them.

"Coco, Crash, Crunch. This is Rayman and Ly, they are here with an offering of thanks." The old guardian told them as Rayman and Ly wave when their name came up. The children all looked at each other until Coco voiced all their thoughts.

"Thanks? But I don't recall that we've done anything that should be rewarded…." Coco trailed off, confusion deeply intertwined with her tone of voice. Ly, who looked much like a human except she was far thinner than any known human, had dark purple hair, long pointed ears and beautiful bushy purple tail, put a hand in front of her mouth and let forth a soft giggle.

"Silly, Coco. By saving your dimension you have in turn saved ours from any more disaster."

Rayman crossed his arms, or at least it would have looked like that if he had arms, and smiled warmly.

"Yeah, thanks to you. I can go about my job of stopping evil and not having to worry about an outside threat."

"Your dimension? You're from a different one?" Crunch asked, very confused.

Ly smiled sweetly and nodded softly as Aku-Aku spoke.

"Yes, children. The portal to their realm lies deep within the ancient ruins found at the very center of the second Island. So if Crash had not stopped Cortex-" He was quickly cut off by Coco, who finished the sentence.

"He could have found the portal and a ton of mutated havoc in their world!"

All the bandicoots were all shocked as if hit them and their guests nodded slowly.

"As a thank you, we have brought you each a gift from the inhabitants of our world." Ly told them in her gentle voice, and opened a small portal in the air, making the bandicoot children gasp.

"How did you do that?" Coco asked, her emerald eyes wide with surprise making Ly smile again.

"I'm a fairy, so I can open a portal to a tiny dimension that hold things in so that I can get them at any time."

The only reply she got was a set of three "oooohh"s as she pulled an object out of the small dark green portal.

"Crash, would you come here please?"

The young male bandicoot got to his feet and walked over to the fairy.

"Crash, this is a hand-woven armband with three magic feathers from an ancient bird found only on the peak of the tallest mountains of our world. They offer it to you as thanks." Ly told him as she slipped onto his left arm, stopping at the top of his forearm. Crash smiled as he looked at it, the actual band's rusty brown and golden yellow threads matched perfectly with his short orange fur while the green, red and blue feathers caught the eye.

"Crash, each feather doses something different." Rayman informed him and continued as he pointed to each feather and explained what they did.

"These will help you if you ever need to fight again and you will be covered in an energy that corresponds with the color feather you have activated. The blue feather is for defense; when activated, your body will be covered in a blue energy that you will use to block and/or deflect oncoming attacks. The red feather is for offense; when activated, your body will be covered in a red energy that takes shape natural weapons. Such as a tail to lash things, long energy fangs for your energy outline or long claws that can't be broken and rip or pass through most objects. Last is the Green feather, my personal favorite, is for movement; when activated, your body will be covered in a green energy that brings up you running speed a ton and gives you the ability to see in any darkness. The green feather's last power is the power flight; how long you can stay in the air is based on your endurance and stamina and how well you control them. Using these powers will drain your body's stamina, except for the night vision, but very slowly. So we advise you only use them when needed, do what you wanna do." Rayman finished and took a massively deep breath.

"Dang that was one big mouthful for me to say." He commented to Ly, who giggled softly and Crash thanked them before sitting down next to his siblings again. Ly, the beautiful purple-haired fairy, pulled another give from the void. It was a large orb of swirling, crystal clear water that had what looked like ribbons of blue and red water tied around it. Coco was shocked that the water had a form and actually kept it, but was even more shocked when Ly called her up.

'_I wonder what it is… The water's swirling to fast to make out what that thing in the middle is…'_ She thought to herself as she walked towards the only other female in the house.

"Coco, please put out your hands."

"Ok…."

"This is a gift to a young girl who needs to learn how to take a break from the world of technology and learn how to escape in to the world of nature's natural beauty."

Ly told Coco once she put her hands out, Ly laid the water orb gently in her palms.

"Oh no! I'm sorry!" The young bandicoot gasped in apology as the "ribbons" began to melt once the orb touched her hands but Ly only giggled.

"Don't worry about it, Coco This is a gift from the Water Lums of our world, and that orb is just the gift wrapping. It's customary for the recipient to be the one to release it from its packaging."

Coco sighed in relief at Ly's words and calmly let the rest of the cool water drip through her delicate orange fingers. Her emerald eyes started to sparkle as she saw what the water left behind.

"They're beautiful….!" She exclaimed in a soft voice as she gazed down at the silver jewelry that lay in her palms; a necklace on a thin-link chain with a large, yet not tacky looking, diamond-shape aquamarine stone at the end. The other pieces of jewelry were a pair of small hoop earrings; each with a tiny diamond-shaped aquamarine stone in the middle of the bottom part of the hoop. Ly gave a small sigh of joy as she and Rayman saw the look on Coco's face. Rayman looked up at Ly who nodded, it was her time to explain the gift.

"Coco?"

"Yes?" She quickly answered back and looked up.

"Would you like to hear the powers they hold?"

"Of course, thank you."

"Well, first things first. As I said, this is a gift from the Water Lums, which are magical creature that allow a person to breathe under water when held onto. Recently, they have learned how to put their powers into items and have offered you a few of said items." Ly started then took a deep breath and continued, "Let's start with the necklace; first of all, it was made just for you and will only work when you are wearing it. It holds the power to allow you the powers of underwater breathing, underwater sight and swim speed. The earrings can be given to anybody to use," Ly cast a glace over at Pura as she said the last part, "they each give the ability of underwater breathing. But the last two abilities are split between them; the left holds the power of underwater sight while the right holds the power of swim speed, each are labeled." The fairy finished with a sweet smile.

"Thank you so much, I'll be sure to try them out." Coco couldn't hold back the utter joy in her voice as she thanked them and went to sit back down next to her brothers.

"Cool, now for the last one. Crunch, you're up." Rayman said with smile on his face, his accent adding a nice touch to his words. Crunch saw Ly pull something small out of the portal, but he knew if it was anything like Crash and Coco's gifts it would still be good.

"Crunch, we had this earring made just for you." Ly told him and she laid it gently in his large, natural palm and continued, "When you wear it, it will give to you the ability to see objects at far distances, even at night. Plus, it will heighten the scale of your strength a great amount and make your muscles denser to withstand heavy attacks yet not make you sink in the water."

"Thanks a bundle, pretty miss." Crunch said happily as he gently closed his fist around the earring and walked back to his spot and sat down.

The giving of gifts, even though it didn't feel like long, had taken them well into the evening.

"Well, Ly. I guess we should be heading home now." Rayman suggested as he lay his hands behind his head and looked towards his old friend, who was about to say something when she got cut off by Coco.

"Oh, please stay for dinner! After you came all this way to give us these wonderful gifts it's the least we can do."

Rayman looked over at Ly, who shrugged and nodded with a sweet smile.

"Ok."

"Great! C'mon, boys. Let's go get dinner started!" Coco exclaimed as she leapt to her feet and head for the kitchen, gifts in hand and brothers close behind her.

"Nice kids." Rayman commented once they were gone.

"Indeed. You're very lucky, Aku-Aku." Ly told the old spirit as she sat in the middle of the carpet and crossed her legs so that her ankles were resting on the opposite knee and Rayman cam to sit next to her.

"Thank you, both, for coming."

"No problem, Doc."

"Yes, it was a pleasure."

The three continued to converse as the bandicoot children worked their very hardest to prepare a pleasant meal.

~~~~~~~~~~~A/N: First things first, this will most likely be the only chapter with characters that have nothing to do with the Crash games. Second, this story is mostly about Coco and Pura, since they are my favorite characters. Third, this first chapter tells you about the items these three use in every other story I wtire about the bandicoot siblings.


	2. Chapter 2: A Midnight Decision

Chapter 2: A Midnight Decision.

Coco lay on her soft bed as she watched the moonlit clouds stroll by in the sky, letting the moon illuminate the quiet jungle that surrounded her home.

"I don't get it, Pura…." She started softly, causing her pet tiger look up from his place on the floor towards her.

"Ever since I heard Ly's words, I can't stop thinking about them…"

The already very large tiger cub cast her a confused look that seemed to say 'What words'.

"You know: 'This is a gift to a young girl who needs to learn how to take a break from the world of technology and learn how to escape in to the world of nature's natural beauty.' I wonder what she meant? I spend a ton of time with just nature and no technology." Coco told her pet who gave another look; only this time seemed to say 'Yeah right, Coco…'.

"Grahh! You're right! I've just been lying to myself all this time…" She groaned, but Pura became extremely surprised when his master threw off the covers and sat up.

"Pura, I know what to do!"

The large cat looked up at her with raised eyebrows as Coco jumped out of bed and stood before the open window wearing an oversized T-shirt and a pair of tight, blue short-shorts. Turning around quickly, Coco put hands on her delicate hips and stared down at him confidently.

"We're gonna do it!"

"Mraow…..?"

"We're gonna pack up a bit of our stuff and explore the island until we find a quiet spot that nobody knows about." The fourteen-year-old bandicoot female informed him as she raced over to her dresser and began to look for some cloths. She found her white T-shirt and dark jean overalls along with a soft, violet sleeping robe and sky blue towel. Then she grabbed a torn piece of ragged, multi-colored clothing.

"Right…. I forgot I tore my bathing suit at the beach and I haven't got around to fixing it yet…. Looks like I'll be swimming the old fashion way…!"

Coco's last sentence brought a shock and worried look to Pura's face and he directed it to he.

"Not 'that' old fashioned, you crazy feline. I meant I'll just go swimming in a large T-shirt and pair of underwear, the boys won't be around to see and you've seen me like that before." She reassured him as she grabbed a large white T-shirt and some extra undergarments. Walking over to her wood-framed bed, she laid out the clothing she picked and started to fold each piece as Pura got to his paws and stretched, his massive muscles rippling under his short coat of ginger and white fur as he yawned.

"Let's see… The object of this 'mission' is to get closer to the nature around me, so I guess that means I have to leave my laptop behind, huh?" Coco said sadly as she held the little pink computer in her hands and looked over at Pura, who nodded to tell her that she was correct. Coco only sighed at his response and gently placed her little laptop on her pillows before turning to her nightstand and opened the thin wooden drawer.

"Just in case I get bored; I'll bring my notebook, sketchbook, art supplies, a book I got of the Internet and a pack of playing cards. Anything else we need, boy?" She asked her oversized house cat, who shook his head and Coco put the items in her forest green saddlebag.

"We'll grab food on the way there and then live of the land until we come back." The young bandicoot said confidently and her tiger nodded.

Since Crunch had moved in, the bandicoot family had found a way to add another section and second story to their home. To give a growing girl her space, Crash and Crunch had give Coco and Pura the entire upstairs. Which consisted of a large bedroom, a bathroom with a shower/bath and a small hallway that had a path between the two rooms and the staircase to the main house. Coco sighed softly as turned the knob to her door and closed it quietly. Recently she had been getting angry and yelling more at the boys, which upset her quite a bit. But maybe, just maybe, this time alone with just nature and Pura would teach her stay calm in the future when problems came her way. Pura could feel his master nervousness; it was close to midnight and the two had decided that it would be best to leave when everyone was asleep so that they didn't stop the pair. So, in order to try and calm her down, Pura decided to rub his head and neck against her side while purring. His plan quickly worked! The affection started to make Coco giggle.

"Thanks, boy. You always know the right thing to do to cheer me up." She whispered happily to him as she crouched down and wrapped her arms around his neck in a gentle hug.

"Let's go leave the note in the living room and start out, ok Pura?"

The tiger cub nodded vigorously in reply. Coco stood up again and fixed the strap to her bag. Sighing, the young bandicoot flicked her long blonde ponytail behind her shoulder and headed for the staircase. Careful not to slip on the hardwood steps while wearing her long while silk socks that went to about halfway up her thighs. Hurrying silently down the steps, she stopped at the bottom and tiptoed past her brothers' rooms, Pura stepping silently on his paw-pads close behind her. Coco peaked into the living room, she saw Aku-Aku floating next to the lit fireplace, and luckily he was asleep. The little bandicoot slunk over the a little side table that stood near the hallway legging to the front door.

"Ok, I'm done. Let's go, Pura…." She whispered as she gently placed her handwritten note on the table and smiled. Pura brushed against her leg then headed for the door, Coco quickly following him and opening the door.

'Bye, guys, take care…' The thought drifted through her mind as she locked the door from the outside with a key.

"I guess a girl and her kitty have to do these kinds of things on their own, huh?"

Coco said as she climbed on top of his back, the tiger nodded as his master patted his neck with her hand. Then Coco looked up and exclaimed in a proud voice:

"Ok, Pura. Let's do this!"

~~~~~~~~~A/N: Let's see how this pans out for her...


	3. Chapter 3: The Journey To Find Nature

Chapter 3: The Journey to Find Nature.

Pura silently padded through the thick jungle that covered almost the entire landscape of N. Sanity Island. The massive tiger cub shifted effortlessly through the thick green underbrush for the last hour, covering a large amount of land between their current position and the bandicoot home. Letting forth a curious growl, he looked up at Coco, who was trying to scramble over the large platform-like mushrooms connected to the tree trunks. Finally she stopped and sat on one, legs dangling off the side as she looked at Pura.

"I guess I'm not as fit as I thought I was…. I want to stealthy just in case I ever need to be, but I can barely climb these mushrooms let alone doing it even remotely silently…." She sighed as leaned back on her arms and gently tossed her head back so that she could see glimpses of the dark, star-filled sky through the leafy jungle ceiling. The mid-summer night air came by in a tender breeze and began to ruffle her clothes against her short orange fur ever so softly. Sighing once more, Coco raised a single finger to the sky and began to trace the swaying foliage as she continued to talk to Pura, who had sat down on the cool grass by now.

"I'm to small to fight head on. So I have to learn how to be quick, silent and strong in my own way…" She trailed off, then all of a sudden, she sat bolt upright and looked down at the ginger colored cat.

"Pura!"

"Merow…?"

"Yes, you! Could you teach me how to be silent yet fast, like a cat?" She begged as she leaned of the platform slightly. The gave her a surprised look then let out a small roar and shook his mane, telling her it would be hard but he would try.

"Yes!" Coco yelled, pumping her fist and scaring any sleeping birds nearby out of their trees. The little anthropoid quickly rolled onto her stomach and began clamber down the tree to ground and then to Pura.

"C'mon, boy. I know I can do this if I give it my best shot. Let's go find a good spot to practice." She told Pura as she climbed astride of him. The wildcat nodded and took swiftly through the think jungle as Coco held on, lost in thought.

It was fifteen minutes before 3AM by the time on Coco's pocket watch, the only piece of technology she brought with her, when they finally found a small clearing in the jungle.

"Well, Pura…. I guess this is the best place to set up camp." Coco said as she climbed off his back and began to walk over to a soft patch of thick green grass. Nodding, the tiger quickly bounded over to her. He let out a long, low growl as acceptance of the spot then flopped down and rolled onto his back. Pura kicked a hind foot as Coco rubbed his stomach, then he rolled backed onto his side with his head on the grass and tail twisting back and forth. Sighing, Coco grabbed the towel from her bag and laid it next to Pura.

"Good night, Pura." She said to him as she laid her head on his side and drifted off to sleep. Pura, who couldn't sleep, continued to stare at the stars above them. Thoughts of how he would train and where to train Coco flowed through his mind. After many minutes of pondering this, the large cat finally realized the perfect place: Tiger Temple. An ancient temple that lay deep within the jungle's reaches yet near it there was an area of climbable cliffs that lead down to a secret tunnel where the ocean rest on the other end, so there would be more than enough fish and wampa fruit for the two of them to eat. Pura shook his mane and let the early morning breeze lay with his fur. He then laid his head on his forelegs and followed his master into sleep, for they both need the rest in order to train the next day.

As she slept, Coco dreamt of the picnic she and her family had just a week before.

_The sun rose high in the morning sky as Aku-Aku and the bandicoot siblings hiked to a secluded part of N. Sanity Beach, where the locally mutated wild life wouldn't bother them. Crash, wearing his swim trunks of metal blue, chased Polar and Pura across the warm sand as his brother and sister set up. Crunch spread out the plaid blanket as Coco began to unpack the food. The youngest of the bandicoots smiled as she saw he oldest brother, who had been hit behind the ear with a ball of hardened wet sand, bristle and chase after the younger one, who had thrown the sand and was now running for his life all the while laughing his head off. Going back to the task at hand, Coco set out the food and plates. There were sandwiches, three different kinds of salad, potato, green and fruit salad, and a container of iced wampa juice for the tiny family of four to share._

"_Are you content, my child?" Coco heard her father figure ask as he floated up to her. The young bandicoot smiled and nodded as she looked from him to her brothers again._

"_Of course. Why do you ask, Aku-Aku?" _

"_Because every time you look over at your brothers, a sad look begins to enter your eyes." The spirit replied and Coco finally sighed in agreement._

"_Well, I guess I'm not content with everything…"_

"_What is it that you long for, young one?"_

"_I want to be brave and strong like them…"_

"_Coco, you are still young and learning. One day soon you find your own method of strength and bravery. But until then you should find joy in what you have around you and take happiness that you all safe."_

"_You're right, Aku. I must life for today yet plan for tomorrow with hope and faith."_

_Coco sighed once more, but this time with a lighter heart. Giving one last smile to Aku-Aku, the little bandicoot got to her knees and called to her brothers with a wave._

"_Crash, Crunch! It's time for lunch!" Aku-Aku looked on in joy as watched the two male bandicoots come bounding over and their little sister greeting them joyfully with plates of food._

Coco's eyelids fluttered open as she awoke to the mid-morning sun shining down her.

"Merow?" Pura asked as he pushed some fresh wampa fruit towards her with a forepaw before jumping to his feet and started to bounce while mewing. His master gave a soft laugh as she grabbed the wampa fruit and took a bite out of one, purple juice leaking out the side of her smiling mouth while she began to pack up her bed.

"So Pura, this looks like a good place to practice. Should we stay here?"

Coco was surprised when Pura shook his head then picked up her bag and started walking north east of their current position.

"Where are we going, boy?" She asked even though she knew the tiger couldn't answer. So she simply ran after him and jumped on his back, waiting for their destination.


End file.
